After an impassioned speech that garnered scoffs, whispers and occasional gasps, the embattled and now again former president of the Christian County Library Board of Trustees, Allyson Tuckness, resigned in the opening minutes of the Board’s meeting Tuesday, October 22.
In her speech, Tuckness compared calls for labeling LGBTQ+ materials in the library to labeling and book banning and burning in Nazi Germany. Tuckness said, “labels are stigmatizing, and labels are censorship. There is no way around that,” adding that “In Nazi Germany, my ancestors wore yellow stars on their chests and arms –- labels.”
She also cited strains on her mental health and family life and defended library staff including executive director Renee Brumett.
Tuckness accused her detractors of bullying and described their “constant complaining about the same concerns,” as unnecessary. She said she would “continuously defend Renee and her team on the way they’ve handled the abuse and ridicule the public has put upon them."
Following the speech, Tuckness made a brisk exit, and the board elected Echo Schneider president pro tem.
The Board shifted into its business for the night, including a motion to fire the library district’s lawyer, who has been representing the library in a lawsuit against members of the board regarding potential sunshine law and board bylaw violations. The board voted 3 to 1 to give their lawyer, Harry Styron, 30 days' notice and pursue an RFP for a new lawyer.
Board member Diana Brazeale voted with the majority, all of whom are named as a plaintiffs in the suit. Brazeale, who practices law, gave a measured explanation representing the majority opinion.
“When you are representing an entity (as a lawyer)," Brazeale said “if members of your entity enter into a dispute, you can’t pick sides and represent one side against the other. The appropriate thing to do is to withdraw from the representation.”
And while the board has had what the public perceives as a conservative majority since July, they made little movement on the number one concern voiced in public comments for the last two years, and which took up almost the entire public comment period Tuesday, the question of how to handle LGBTQ+, arguably sexually explicit and otherwise controversial materials.
The board only briefly discussed a keyword tagging system used in the library’s catalog, in the context of using those tags to help determine a potential labeling system. Executive Director Brumett explained the tags are user generated and include thousands of keywords.
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting the board altered the bylaws to allow more flexibility with electing its leadership in the future and voted to add the Pledge of Allegiance to future board proceedings. They also heard a report from library staff on user metrics, which pointed to ongoing growth in library use and program attendance and overwhelmingly positive satisfaction with library service. Executive Director Brumett also reported that popular interlibrary lending service MOBIUS may be back up and available for users in early 2025.